comic-con weekend 2016

Entering comic-con means walking into a place that transforms the city of San Diego into something that really everybody in this world is striving towards. A place where people are happy, people are themselves, are exchanging goods, and are just completely together in this environment that encourages gorgeous self-exploration. I've been to other festivals and conventions, I've seen how crowds work in everything from sports, to politics, to gaming, to shows and theatre. I've seen all of these groups come together and I will tell you that I've never seen a group that is so wholesomely individual and unafraid as the one I saw this past weekend.I've been to comic-con before and as great as it was that first time around, I spent most of my first weekend just taking it all in. The convention is huge, mind you. So with all of the celebrities, the waiting in the line, the food, the costumes and the cosplaying, your first time at the convention can be really overwhelming. But now that I've been a second time, I got to see comic-con for what it really is. And let me tell you, it's perfect.

First of all, San Diego is the perfect city for this convention. It's never rained out, the gaslamp district can host thousands of bar patrons, it's right by the ocean to get a coastal breeze, and every celebrity is not hesitant to come to the convention because it is in Southern California. So, location, check.

Now let's talk about the venue. The San Diego convention center is the perfect vessel for this weekend of nerdery. It's is able to host 135,000+ people for this convention, the security is on fleek, the bathrooms are clean, and the navigation inside the building is well-coordinated and simple. Whether it be on the massive convention floor where you can see booths of your favorite artists, games, tv shows, prop makers, costume designers, ect. or if you're in one of the halls where you see panel after panel of star-studded shows or movies, you're going to have a lot of things to do over the four days. So venue, check.

Now, to the greatest part of the weekend, the majestic and confident humans. Absolutely zero fucks given by these amazing people. Want to take their picture? Sure! Want to know how they made their specific costume? Nobody will hesitate to tell you. Everyone there is there for everyone else. It's a four day party of nerds and it's the closest thing we'll get to a utopia in 2016. As you see in the pictures, the amount of detail some put into their cosplay was second to none. I wasn't dressed in my favorite character's costume and to be honest, I felt quite out of place. I'll be damned if you don't see a 6'3 225lb Mario running around comic-con next year. People, check.

Now I know it can be difficult to get to SD and I know the entry ticket can be a hefty chuck of cheese, but I promise you it's all so worth it. It's a weekend of love, imagination, and pure entertainment. It's not to be missed. Now, please excuse while I take my foam sword and go duel an axe wielding dwarf from Ohio.